Xuling stared at his own shoulder in disbelief, as if he couldn't accept that his Indestructible Golden Body had been breached!

His eyes widened, his gaze shifting from astonishment to shock, and then from shock to pure fury! Xuling instinctively reached out to grasp the Nine Heavens Purple Silk that had pierced his shoulder, intending to rip it from his body.

But the moment his hand touched the purple silk artifact, the Nine Heavens Purple Silk instantly transformed from a continuously spinning drill bit into a rapidly slicing blade. Countless minute barbs sprouted along its edge, instantaneously tearing through Xuling’s skin.

Xuling’s hand was instantly shredded, leaving it a bloody mess. He roared in anger, yet still clung fiercely to the Nine Heavens Purple Silk, desperately pulling it outward, inch by painstaking inch.

Zheng Yuan knew that if Xuling managed to pull the Nine Heavens Purple Silk out of his body, Xuling would revert to a flawless state, regaining his Indestructible Golden Body, which would cause immense trouble!

Zheng Yuan immediately roared again: “Xuling!”

At virtually the same moment, Li Yundong unleashed another palm strike, and Zhou Qin whipped her lash toward Xuling.

Void immediately moved to shield Xuling, but while he could block the Great Hand Seal and the Fire God Whip, he could not stop Zheng Yuan’s insidious Netherworld Five-Zhang Soul-Hooking Jade.

Xuling was stunned once more as Zheng Yuan called his soul. His entire body stiffened again. Although he was prepared this time, he still felt a wave of numbness wash over him, and the Nine Heavens Purple Silk, which had been on the verge of being pulled out, suddenly pierced even deeper with a pu sound!

Xuling exploded in rage. His eyes turned blood-red. Reacting with extreme speed, he gave up pulling outward; instead, he slammed his palm violently against the base of the Nine Heavens Purple Silk, forcing it to shoot completely through his body!

Seeing Xuling’s action, Ziyuan was instantly startled: “This is bad! This Xuling is ruthless!” She immediately controlled the Nine Heavens Purple Silk to instantly dissolve into countless fine purple threads, drilling toward Xuling’s wound.

Although the Nine Heavens Purple Silk looked like fabric, it was actually an artifact conjured from the illusory colors of the Nine Heavens. It could transform at will. If it were allowed to thread its way back into Xuling’s body through the wound, the silk would immediately begin to root like an old tree, swiftly spreading through his blood vessels and potentially traversing his entire body in an instant, seizing control of all his meridians and organs. At that point, even with divine power, Xuling would be beyond saving!

But a Golden Body master was not to be trifled with; victory was not easily won.

After forcing the Nine Heavens Purple Silk out of his body, Xuling, boiling with fury, rapidly formed a hand seal. Golden light erupted from his entire being, manifesting his Golden Body outwardly, as if he were clad in a thick layer of visible golden armor.

The Nine Heavens Purple Silk struck this layer of golden armor and could advance no further. It was even repelled several meters backward by the impact.

As Zheng Yuan prepared to call his soul again, he met Xuling’s terrifyingly ferocious gaze. Xuling roared menacingly: “You seek death!!”

With that, he raised his hand and slapped a palm strike toward Zheng Yuan!

Although this strike lacked the intensely powerful demon-subduing force of Li Yundong’s Great Hand Seal, Xuling was, after all, a Golden Body master. Every movement carried earth-shattering power. This casual palm strike made everyone on Tiandu Peak feel as if the very air had been vacuumed away. Though the strike was not aimed at them, everyone was suffocated by the sheer aura of this attack!

If others felt this way, Zheng Yuan, who was at the forefront, trembled in horror. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes as he swiftly pulled a talisman, prepared beforehand with the Immortal Pen, from his robes and shouted: “Earth!”

With a thunderous boom, a solid stone wall instantly rose before him on the ground.

This wall was made entirely of hard rock, a full meter thick, but when Xuling’s palm struck, the stone wall shattered into dust. Yet, the force of the blow did not cease, charging fiercely toward Zheng Yuan!

Zheng Yuan had not expected the stone wall to offer the slightest resistance to the palm’s power. Struck by sudden dread and with no room to dodge, he grit his teeth, pushed forward with both hands, and met the blow head-on.

With a colossal bang, Zheng Yuan was squarely hit. His entire body convulsed violently, and he spewed a mouthful of bright red blood, collapsing onto one knee, instantly immobilized.

Ding Nan, standing nearby, cried out in alarm and quickly knelt down: “Master, what is wrong?”

Zheng Yuan’s chest churned with chaotic energy, his meridians a tangled mess. He stared hatefully at Xuling, with distinct awe and fear hidden in his eyes. He managed to rasp out: “Quick… leave. If we don’t… leave now… we won’t be able to!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he coughed up another mouthful of crimson blood.

Ding Nan had practiced for quite some time; she immediately recognized the extreme redness of the blood, indicating severe internal injuries to his vital organs. Shocked, she prepared to drag Zheng Yuan away, only to hear Xuling’s ferocious laughter: “Trying to leave? After injuring this Daoist Master, you think you can just walk away? Not so easily!!”

Xuling was about to press the attack and finish them off, but Li Yundong’s, Zhou Qin’s, and Ziyuan’s artifacts arrived simultaneously. By this time, the other cultivators had recovered their senses, and a barrage of magical artifacts bombarded Xuling.

Xuling roared in fury, dodging the chaotic bombardment from all sides: “Fine! None of you will leave today! I will risk the Thunder Tribulation and slaughter you all! Junior Brother, protect the dharma!”

Void heard him and swiftly reached inside his robes, pulling out two talismans. He rapidly formed hand seals, chanting incantations, as the two talismans pinched between his fingers burst into flame.

One talisman burned with yellow flames, and the other with green flames.

Soon, these two clusters of flame rapidly transformed into two divine statues, blazing with wildfire intensity. The moment these statues appeared, they instantly formed two protective barriers, completely enclosing Xuling and Void within them.

Zhou Qin gasped upon seeing the statues materialize: “What are those?”

Ziyuan was also startled, blurting out: “They look like the Thirty-Two Heavenly Emperors of Taoism?”

Zhou Qin asked urgently: “Thirty-Two Heavenly Emperors?”

Li Yundong’s face grew grave as he explained: “The yellow one is one of the Eight Eastern Heavenly Emperors, the Grand Sovereign Yellow-Pure Heaven Emperor, known as Yu Jian Yu Ming, who oversees the registers of longevity, residing in the Purple Chamber Palace. His primary essence is primal yang, hence the yellow flames swirling around him.”

“The other is the Supreme Bright Jade-Complete Heaven Emperor, known as Xu A Natian, who governs the rebirth of souls, residing in the Purple Chamber Palace. His vital energy is Upper Yang Green, which is why he is wreathed in green flames.”

Ziyuan clenched her jaw and added grimly: “Damn it, this fellow is protected by the Grand Sovereign Yellow-Pure Heaven Emperor, and his wound is already healing! The other, the Supreme Bright Jade-Complete Heaven Emperor, is there to guard against the Netherworld Five-Zhang Soul-Hooking Jade. If Zheng Yuan tries to call his soul again, this Emperor will instantly guide the nether spirits within the Jade toward reincarnation!”

Zhou Qin drew a sharp breath, watching in terror as the wound on Xuling’s shoulder rapidly regenerated under the protection of these two Taoist deities. Then, with a furious roar, Xuling’s golden light surged, and his Yang Spirit instantly detached from his body, soaring into the sky to become a dazzling, incredibly imposing iron tower deity of pure golden light.

With the protection of the two Taoist Emperors, Xuling dared to summon his Yang Spirit. Once his spirit emerged, he looked down upon the people on Tiandu Peak with a sneer, roaring: “Die! Die!!”

He spread his hands wide, his entire being shining like a blinding golden sun, the radiance intensifying.

Li Yundong’s face drained of color. He immediately turned to Ziyuan: “Quickly, go bring Kriz here!”

As Li Yundong spoke, Ziyuan instantly flashed to Kriz, who was standing there stunned, and instantly pulled her close.

Xuling had entered a state of berserk rage. His Golden Body instantly stretched into countless sharp, almost tangible golden threads, shooting out indiscriminately in all directions like a myriad of arrows.

The cultivators hidden in the darkness were either silently pierced by Xuling’s Yang Spirit projections or turned to flee in terror, only to be swiftly overtaken and ruthlessly killed by Xuling’s duplicates.

Zheng Yuan, already severely wounded, watched the scene unfold, a look of near despair in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he swiftly pulled three golden needles from his robes and stabbed them into the Baihui acupoint atop his head!

The Baihui acupoint is a critical junction that best mobilizes the body's latent potential and vital energy. This act was akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. Zheng Yuan’s spirits instantly lifted, a surge of vital force bloomed, and his complexion flushed. He took a deep breath, pulled out two talismans while chanting an incantation, and instantly sank into a pit that opened beneath his feet. He, Ding Nan, and Alba plummeted into the earth, finding refuge in the Nine Depths.

Li Yundong rapidly formed the Immovable Root Mudra, holding the terrifying wide-area killing technique of Xuling three meters in front of him with the divine, unshakeable posture of a Buddha being buffeted by the eight winds.

Su Chan and the others watched as what looked like a rain of golden arrows swept the surroundings. Screams and wails rose incessantly; many cultivators died instantly. Those who managed to partially defend themselves dared not linger, rapidly transforming into streaks of cyan light and fleeing Tiandu Peak in utter disarray.

Zhou Qin looked at the rampaging Xuling with fear, trembling: “Master, what do we do? What can we do?”

Li Yundong watched Xuling, deeply shaken, and murmured involuntarily: “So he wasn't using his full strength last time?”

Su Chan also stared at Xuling in horror: “Yundong, we don’t want that Earth Spirit Elixir anymore, let’s go! This Golden Body master is too formidable! We can’t beat him!”

Li Yundong’s face hardened as he said grimly: “It’s not entirely hopeless…”

Su Chan and Zhou Qin were both startled. They hadn't expected Xuling to be this monstrously powerful that Li Yundong still had a way to deal with him.

They asked in unison: “What way?”

Ziyuan’s heart stirred, and she looked at Li Yundong with wide eyes: “Could it be you plan to…”

Li Yundong nodded. He pointed a hand toward the sky: “Summon the Heavenly Thunder to subdue him!”